GREENCASTLE — It spoke volumes about the character of a team now guaranteed at least a share of the Mid-Penn Colonial Division title.

Trailing 10-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning during Friday's varsity softball game against Big Spring, things looked bleak for a Greencastle-Antrim squad that was struggling in all phases.

And then, for as bad as it started, the Blue Devils put together a riveting, four-and-a-half inning charge few in attendance will soon forget.

After overcoming the nine-run deficit to tie the game at 10 in the fifth, G-A again had to answer with a run in the bottom of the seventh, forcing extra innings with the slugfest knotted at 11.

With the Bulldogs failing to score in the top of the eighth, a Big Spring error set the stage for Ashlynn Schaeffer's walk-off triple to the gap in right-center, plating Michaela Ensminger to cap G-A's 12-11, come-from-behind victory.

The win puts the Blue Devils (14-4) alone atop the Colonial standings at 9-2, one game clear of second-place James Buchanan, who sits at 8-3. Now, should G-A defeat Waynesboro in its Colonial finale next Thursday, the Blue Devils will claim the division title outright, avoiding a potential tie with the Rockets.

"We just kept battling," G-A head coach Mark DeCarli said. "It couldn't have started much worse, but it also couldn't have ended much better. We were down, but the girls never folded. The bats finally got going and we kept chipping away. It just says a lot about this team."

There certainly was no shortage of offense on Friday, as the two teams combined for 23 runs on 29 hits, with defending state champion Big Spring (8-9, 4-6 MPC-Colonial) stealing the show early before falling victim to G-A's inspired rally late.

While Schaeffer's walk-off triple added the exclamation point on her three-hit, three-RBI afternoon, the 4-for-4 performance from Mary Ward out of the leadoff spot was perhaps the most noticeable.

Like Schaeffer, Ward's day also included two triples, highlighted by her one-out shot to left-center in the bottom of the seventh, culminating into the Blue Devils' tying run on an RBI groundout by Casey German, forcing the extra stanza.

Katie Gelsinger added three hits in the win while Kennsey Epley and Kenicia Gettle paced the Bulldogs, both connecting on a trio of base knocks in the disappointing loss.

Despite the eventual outcome, Big Spring quickly set the tone, as a leadoff triple by Brooke Sullivan paired with a sacrifice fly put the Bulldogs on the board just two batters into the first.

The margin grew to 6-0 in the third as consecutive two-run doubles from Kaitlyn Brough and Gettle headlined Big Spring's five-tally frame, all of which were scored after the first two batters of the inning were retired.

G-A did manage to break through in the home half, as Ward's first triple of the game was followed by a sacrifice fly from Whitley Mongan, leaving the deficit at 6-1.

The Bulldogs seemingly seized full control in the fourth, as back-to-back Blue Devil errors preceded RBI hits by Epley, Brough, Gettle and Emma Hergenroader, extending the advantage to nine at 10-1.

In desperate need of a response, a triple by Schaeffer served as a spark for G-A's offense, with consequent singles from Gelsinger and Ward drawing the Blue Devils within six by the end of the fourth.

The newly-found momentum carried into the fifth, as a scoreless top half by Big Spring gave way to the comeback's signature sequence, with G-A erupting for six runs to drastically change the game's complexion.

Prior to the first out of the inning, the Blue Devils scored five times on five hits, with singles from Mongan, Schaeffer, Gelsinger, Erin Bontrager and Mackenzie Gayman cutting the deficit to one at 10-9.

Having batted around, G-A then capitalized on two Bulldog errors to tie the contest at 10, suddenly flipping the script on any preconceived notions.

Neither side scored in the sixth before Michayla Roberts came across on a wild pitch in the seventh, reclaiming the lead for Big Spring at 11-10.

Ward's clutch triple ensued to eventually re-tie the slugfest in the do-or-die home half prior to Schaeffer's game-winner completing the Blue Devils' defining comeback with one out in the eighth.

Due to a scheduling conflict, G-A will return to action on Tuesday at Manheim Central in a game that was added after Monday's originally scheduled contest against Chambersburg had to be canceled. The Blue Devils will then close out the regular season at home on Thursday with a chance to win the Colonial crown outright against Waynesboro.

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